Butler County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 8,369. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is David City. The county was created in 1856 and organized in 1868. In the Nebraska license plate system, Butler County is represented by the prefix 25 (when the license plate system was established in 1922, it had the 25th-largest number of vehicles registered of all counties in the state). In 2010, Nebraska's center of population was in Butler County, near the village of Rising City.

Name

There is some uncertainty about how Butler County got its name. The most credible consensus seems to be that Butler County is named for William Orlando Butler, a

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

congressman from

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and U.S. Army major general who served during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

. Butler was offered the job of

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Nebraska. The Nebrask ...

in 1854 by President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who believed that the Abolitionism in the United States, abolitio ...

, but he turned it down. Regardless, Butler County was still named in his honor. The earliest references to the county being called "Butler County" are found in the journals of the

Nebraska Territorial Legislature The Nebraska Territorial Legislature was held from January 16, 1855, until February 18, 1867, in Omaha City, Nebraska Territory. Major issues Slavery In 1854 the Kansas–Nebraska Act created the Nebraska Territory, overturning the Miss ...

from the years 1857 and 1858. Another common explanation proposed for the naming of Butler County is that it was named for David Butler, the first

of the

State of Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. However, Butler County was created by an act of the

on June 26, 1856, and was referred to as "Butler County" more than ten years before David Butler became Governor of Nebraska and two years before he had even moved to Nebraska from Indiana in 1859. When David Butler came to Nebraska, he settled in Pawnee County, not in the Butler County area. Confusingly, however, the name for the county seat of Butler County, David City, is also sometimes attributed to David Butler, but there are also conflicting sources concerning its origin. A second alternate explanation for the origin of Butler County's name is given in Andreas' ''History of Nebraska''. It seems to indicate that the county might have been named for William Butler, an early settler who moved to the area in 1860 and became county sheriff in 1868. However, as noted before, the county had been in existence and had been referred to as "Butler County" well before that point in time.

Geography

According to the

US Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.0%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 81 * N-15

Nebraska Highway 15 * N-64

Nebraska Highway 64 * N-66

Nebraska Highway 66 * N-92

Nebraska Highway 92

Adjacent counties

* Saunders County – east * Seward County – south * York County – southwest * Polk County – west * Platte County – northwest * Colfax County – north

Demographics

The most commonly picked ancestries among the population in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

were German (30.4%),

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

(22.6%), English (12.3%), Irish (10.1%), Mexican (3.7%), and Polish (3.1%). As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 8,767 people, 3,426 households, and 2,350 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 3,901 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.38%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.10%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.13% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.81% from other races, and 0.40% from two or more races. 1.65% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 33.1% were of German and 32.0%

ancestry. There were 3,426 households, out of which 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.90% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 5.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.40% were non-families. 28.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.13. The county population contained 27.90% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 25.30% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 17.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 104.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $36,331, and the median income for a family was $44,441. Males had a median income of $28,856 versus $20,979 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $16,394. About 4.80% of families and 8.20% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 9.80% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

* David City (county seat)

Villages

* Abie * Bellwood * Brainard *

Bruno Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters * Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologn ...

* Dwight *

Garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

* Linwood * Octavia * Rising City * Surprise * Ulysses

Unincorporated communities

* Appleton * Edholm * Loma * Millerton * Nimburg

Ghost town

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

Townships

* Alexis * Bone Creek * Center * Franklin * Linwood * Oak Creek *

Olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

* Platte * Plum Creek * Read *

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

* Richardson *

* Skull Creek *

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

* Ulysses * Union

Politics

Butler County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. No Democratic Party candidate has carried the county in any national election since 1976.

References

{{Coord, 41.22, -97.13, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-NE_source:UScensus1990 Nebraska counties Czech-American culture in Nebraska 1868 establishments in Nebraska Populated places established in 1868